By
Daniel A. Medina @dmedin11
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Safer than pain
pills? AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
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Marijuana
advocates
say the drug is the safest option for patients seeking instant pain
relief. Opponents
see little to no medicinal value in cannabis and consider the drug unsafe.
And medical experts are
divided on the issue. The conclusions of a new study by a team from
the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school suggest the pot advocates have
it right.
According
to the study,
published in the latest issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, US
states that have legalized medical marijuana recorded lower rates of deaths
resulting from overdoses of opioid
analgesics. These drugs, which include painkillers like Oxycontin,
Percocet, and Vicodin, often are prescribed by doctors to treat moderate
to severe pain and to suppress a patient’s perception of pain.
The
researchers examined the rate of deaths caused by opioid overdoses between 1999
and 2010. The results showed that on average, the 13 states that started
allowing the use of medical marijuana before or during that period had a roughly
25% lower annual opioid overdose mortality rate after the laws were enacted
than in states where the drug was prohibited.
The
findings suggest that medical marijuana may be a safer alternative treatment
for patients suffering from chronic pain related to cancer or other conditions.
(In the US, where the number of people who are prescribed opioids for
non-cancer pain has almost doubled over the past decade, about
60% of fatal opioid analgesic overdoses occur in patients who
have legitimate prescriptions.)
Medical
marijuana “may provide relief for some individuals,” the study’s lead author,
Marcus Bachhuber, said in a release about
the findings. “In addition, people already taking opioids for pain may
supplement with medical marijuana and be able to lower their painkiller dose,
thus lowering their risk of overdose.”
The
researchers concluded that the relationship between lower opioid overdose
deaths and medical marijuana laws has strengthened over time. For example, the
opioid overdose mortality rate was nearly 20% lower in the first year after a
state’s legalization of medical marijuana, and roughly 34% lower five years
after implementation.
The team recommended that as more states debate
legalizing medical marijuana and implement new laws, “[f]urther investigation
is required to determine how medical cannabis laws may interact with policies
aimed at preventing opioid analgesic overdose.”
Source: http://qz.com
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